Prompts/Ideas For Songwriters

We’ve all been there; we’ve sat down with a microphone, our instrument and a blank notebook and couldn’t think of anything to write about. The hardest part about songwriting is getting started. Allow us to make that process easier and get the inspirational juices flowing with some prompts (with examples) we think would make a great song!

Love & Relationships

An oldie but a goodie. Majority of today’s songs are written from one of the most passionate experiences of all time: a relationship. It can be platonic love, romantic love, familial love, etc.

1. A breakup song where all your deepest feelings are on display.

   (Good For You, Olivia Rodrigo, Finish Line, Delaney Bailey, I Guess That Was Goodbye, Lyn Lapid, Hate You, Jordi, this is what heartbreak feels like, JVKE, Water Fountain, Alex Benjamin, Cry, Benajmin Boone etc.)

2. Falling in love with someone who doesn’t know you exist.

   (Don’t You Dare (Make Me Fall in Love With You, Kaden MacKay, From the Start, Laufey, Just for me, Pink Pantheress, j’s lullaby, Delaney Bailey, More Like You, Orla Gartlend, Looking Out For You, Joy Again, etc.)

3. A letter to an ex you never sent.

   (Boys Like You, dodie, Bored, Thomas Headon, etc.)

4. Two people in love but destined to never be together.
   (ok with it, Lyn Lapid, If I Could Ride a Bike, Chevy, cliche, mxmtoon, WILDFLOWER, Billie Eillish, etc.)

5. An ode to your mother or sibling.

   (To You, Or3o, Best Friend, Laufey, etc.)

Mental Health & Emotions

1. The feeling of being lost in your own mind.

   (breathin’, Ariana Grande, All Eyes On Me, Bo Burnham, don’t quite belong, dodie, Secret For The Mad, dodie, What Was I Made For?, Billie Eillish, this is what sadness feels like, JVKE, etc.)

2. A song about pretending you're okay when you're not.

   (Pretending, Orla Gartland, Girls Like Me Don’t Cry, thuy, i’m not okay, JVKE,

3. A melody that represents anxiety.

   (THE GREATEST, Billie Eillish, Nothing New, Taylor Swift, Why Am I Like This?, Orla Gartland, bored like me, dodie, etc.)

4. Finding light in the darkness.

   (rises the moon, Liana Flores, walk but in a garden, LLusion, Living On, Or3o

5. What you would say to your future self if you could.

   (Good Girl, Carrie Underwood, Party Tattoos, dodie,

Nostalgia & Memories

1. A place you can never return to, but still dream about.

   (2004, Anthony Amorim)

   A person you can never return to, but still dream about.

   (100 Years, Or3o, wonder if she loves me, JVKE, As it Was, Harry Styles, Talking to the Moon, Bruno Mars, etc.)

2. A song about a night you never want to end.

   (Faster Car, Loving Caliber, Give Me Everything, Pitbull, Here With Me, d4vd, Kiss Me More, Doja Cat, Nothing, Bruno Major, etc.)